Causes of Islamic Misconceptions

Misconceptions are mistaken ideas or misunderstandings held by people regarding what Islam is and stands for. Many falsehood, mistruth and misconceptions have been spread about Islam. Learning about Islam from unreliable sources without verification is dangerous and may lead to misunderstandings.

The ignorance of Muslims who disobeyed or misunderstood the teachings of Islam, are the major contributor of Islamic misconceptions. Some have mixed their traditional practices with Islam and do not know the difference, while some have failed to behave in accordance with Islamic teachings.

The key to understanding Islam is by resisting stereotypes and examine each situation according to the true Islamic teachings from authentic sources. It is not fair to assess Islam by the behavior or the actions of ignorant misbehaving Muslims. Misconceptions are also due to some Muslim pretending to be specialized scholars, when they are not.

Among Muslim scholars are those who have specialized in one area, but are often asked questions on areas that are not in their fields of study. A specialist in one field is usually a layman in other fields. Often a Muslim scholar specialized in one area, were asked about questions on areas that are not in his or her field of specialization, thus creating misconceptions.

Misconceptions are also caused by faulty logic and false assumption among the Muslims. It is the fundamental responsibility of every Muslims to learn and improve themselves through accurate sources of information regarding their faith, and to speak and act against the misunderstanding and misapplication of Islam by fellow believers.

It's the duty of every Muslims to play a part in correcting wrong and clarification of Islamic misconceptions. Understanding the causes of misconceptions aids us in identifying what must be done to reduce and eventually eliminate misunderstandings about Islam. The responsibility to correct wrong are enshrined in the following verses:

"You are the best nation produced (as an example) for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah ." (QS 3:110)

"The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong..."(QS 9:71)

Sadly, deliberate distortion, misrepresentation and invention of falsehood about Islam by those who opposes the deen, are also one of the major causes of misconceptions. A brief search on the word 'Islam or Muslims' on the internet reveals the ugly side about the deceptive and misleading information to the public by the enemies of Islam.

Wallahu'alam